Apparatus for finishing concrete floors



June 12, 1962 J. H. MEYER 3,038,350

APPARATUS FOR FINISHING CONCRETE FLOORS Filed Dec. 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JOHN H. MEYER.

June 12, 1962 J. H. MEYER APPARATUS FOR FINISHING CONCRETE FLOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 1, 1958 IF at INVENTOR. JOHN H. MEYEQ ATTQQA/E Y6 Patented June 12, 1962 3,038,350 APPARATUS FOR FINISHING CONCRETE FLOORS John Henry Meyer, 9 Station Square, Rutherford, NJ. Filed Dec. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 777,290 1 (llaim. (l. 74-218) This invention relates to a motorized roller apparatus used for finishing the surfaces of floors of concrete, terrazzo, concrete mix and various other materials.

My prior Patent No. 2,133,173 describes an apparatus which can be conveniently rolled over the wet surface of the concrete mix to form a smooth wear-resisting surface formed of hard particles knitted closely together by a binding agent; while this apparatus was found to be most effective in operation, it has the drawback that it must be pulled or operated by an outside source of power. Consequently, its size, its usefulness and its adaptability were limited to a substantial extent.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of prior art constructions through the provision of a motorized roller, the construction of which can be readily adapted to all possible requirements and which can be used most effectively for finishing floors of concrete and the like of all possible sizes and shapes.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In accomplishing the objects of the present invention it was found desirable to provide a roller apparatus having a frame carrying a motor and supporting a central roller and two pairs of side rollers. A shift lever is used to provide a driving connection between the motor and any one of two pulley drives which actuate through a swingable gear box and sprocket drives the central roller and one roller of each of the two pairs of side rollers. Thus the direction of movement of the roller apparatus may be easily and quickly changed from forward to reverse and vice versa, which is of particular importance for surface finishing.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings showing, by way of ex ample, a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a motorized roller constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front view.

FIGURE 3 is a top view.

The apparatus shown in the drawings includes a frame 25 having two side frame portions 26 and 27 which are interconnected by transverse frame portions 29 and 30; it also includes a middle roller 40, one pair of side rollers 35 and 39 and another pair of side rollers 37 and 41. The rollers 35 and 39 are located in alinement with each other on one side of the roller 40, while the rollers 37 and 41 are also in alinement with each other and are located on the other side of the central roller 40. The rollers 35 and 41 are idlers; they are equal in size and are located diagonally opposite each other, while the rollers 38 and 37 are also equal in size and are some what larger than the rollers 35 and 41. All the rollers are hollow. The rollers 35 and 39 are carried by a shaft 28 which is mounted upon a bracket 32 located between the rollers 35 and 39 and carried by the frame portion 29. Similarly, the rollers 37 and 41 are carried by a shaft 31 which is mounted upon a bracket 38 located between these rollers and carried by the frame portion 30. The central roller 40* is mounted upon a shaft 80 supported by two brackets 33 which are carried by the frame portions 26 and 27.

The frame 25 carries three elongated channel supports 54, 42 and 43 which extend parallel to each other and are firmly connected with the frame portions 29 and 30. The channel members 42 and 43 serve as a support for a motor 44 which is firmly mounted thereon and which may be of the gas reduction type. The motor 44 has a motor shaft 45 which is firmly connected with pulleys 10 and 81. A pulley 20 is located below the pulley 10 and is operatively connected therewith by a belt drive 22. The pulley 20 is carried by a shaft 46 extending through a swingable gear box 14. Another belt drive 21 connects the pulley 81 with a pulley 19 which is mounted upon a shaft 50 extending through the gear box 14.

The gear box 14 contains a gear wheel 11 which is mounted upon the shaft 50 and which meshes with a gear wheel 12 mounted upon the shaft 46. It is thus apparent that the gear wheel 11 is driven by the pulley 19 while the gear wheel 12 is driven by the pulley 20.

The gear box 14 which carries the shafts 46 and 50 is swingably mounted upon a shaft 68 which is mounted in brackets 53 and 82 carried by channel. supports 54 and 42, respectively. The gear box 14 has an eyelet portion 49 carrying a U-shaped shift lever 13 by means of which the gear box 14 can be swung from a central neutral position to a forward driving position or to a rearwardly driving position.

The shaft 50 carries a sprocket wheel 15 which is connected by an endless chain 16 with a sprocket wheel 18 carried by the shaft 68. The shaft 68 firmly connects the sprocket wheel 18 with a sprocket wheel 59 which is connected by an endless chain 58 with a sprocket wheel 60 keyed upon the shaft and thus firmly connected with the middle roller 40.

Another sprocket wheel 83 is also keyed upon the shaft 80. The sprocket wheel 83 is connected by a chain drive 64 with a sprocket wheel 84 which is keyed upon a countershaft 85. The countershaft is mounted in bearings 86 and 87 suspended from the base 88 of the motor 44. The countershaft 85 carries another sprocket wheel 89 which drives through the endless chain 61 a sprocket wheel 63 firmly connected with the shaft 31 and the roller 37.

Yet another sprocket wheel is keyed upon the shaft 68 and is connected by an endless chain 55 with a sprocket wheel 57 keyed upon the shaft 28 which is firmly connected with the roller 39.

In addition to the lever 13, the apparatus comprises a handle 17 which may be used for guiding the mechanized roller of the present invention or for connecting it with other rollers to form a train of rollers. The handle 17 is -U-shaped and its ends are connected by pins 66 with supports 67 carried by the frame 25. Due to this arrangement the handle 17 can be swung conveniently during manipulation.

The rollers are provided with scrapers used to remove the scum or lighter particles which may adhere to the working surfaces of the rollers. For that purpose, an elongated scraper 69 is located in front of the rollers 35 and 39 and is suspended by two pivots 70 from the frame 25. Another similar scraper 71 is located in front of the rollers 39 and 41 and is carried by pivots 72 mounted in the frame 25. The frame parts 31 and 27 carry supports 73 and 74. The support 73 is located between the central roller 40 and the side rollers 35 and 39 and carries scrapers 75 engaging the rollers 35 and 39, and a scraper 76 engaging the central roller 40'. The support 74 is located between the central roller 40 and the side rollers 37 and 41 and carries scrapers 77 engaging the rollers 37 and 41, and a scraper 78 engaging the central roller 40.

A lubricating liquid consisting preferably of Water mixed with a suitable hardening agent may be applied to the rollers so as to form a film which will be applied evenly to the floor surface andwill prevent adhesion of larger particles to the surface ofthe, rollers.

The machine is operatedas follows:

In the neutral position of the gear box 14 shown in the drawings both pulley drives 21 and 22 are slack, so that even when the motor 44 is started, the rotation of the motor shaft 45' and of the pulleys 10 and 81 will not be transmitted to the driven rollers 37, 39 and 40'.

In order to move the apparatus forward, the operator must swing the shift lever 13 and the gear box 14 connected therewith in the direction of the arrow 91 until the endless drive belt 21 is tightened, while the belt 22 remains slack. Then the rotation of pulley 81 is transmitted through the endless belt 21 to the pulley 19. The pulley 19 will drive the gear wheel 11 which will drive through the shaft 50, the sprocket wheel 15, the chain 16, the sprocket wheel 18, the shaft 68, the sprocket wheel 59, the chain 8, the sprocket wheel 60, the shaft 80 and the middle roller 40. At the same time, the shaft 68 will drive the sprocket wheel 90, the chain 55, the sprocket wheel 57 and the roller 39. Furthermore, the shaft 80 will drive the sprocket wheel 83, the chain 64, the sprocket wheel 84, the countershaft 85, the sprocket wheel 89, the chain 61, the sprocket wheel 63 and the roller 37.

To move the apparatus rearwardly, i.e. in the opposite direction, the operator must swing the shift lever 13 and the gear box 14 in the direction opposite to that of the arrow 91 until the endless belt 22 is tightened. Then the drive of the motor shaft 45 is transmitted through the'pulley to the endless belt 22 to the pulley and thence through the shaft 46 to the gear Wheel 12 meshing with the gear wheel 11. The gear wheel 11 will operate the above described drives of the rollers137, 39 and 40, but the rollers willbe rotated in the opposite direction.

It is apparent that the example described above has been given solely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that it is subject to many variations and modifications within the scope of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are tobe included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

In an apparatus for finishing concrete floors having a frame, a motor mounted upon said frame, and three parallel rotary driving rollers suspended from said frame; a power transmission drive comprising, in combination, a

shaft carried by said frame, a gear box having an extension swingably mounted upon said frame shaft, a shift lever carried by said gear box for swinging said gear box about said frame shaft forwardly from a central neutral position to a forward driving position and rear- Wardly to a rearwardly driving position, two shafts carried by said gear box and extending parallel to said rollers, separate pulleys keyed upon the gear box shafts, separate intermeshing gear wheels keyed upon the gear box shafts, two motor driven pulleys, separate pulley drives operatively connecting each motor driven pulley with a'separate gear box pulley, said two pulley drives being slack when said gear box is in its central neutral position, a sprocket wheel keyed upon one of said gearbox-shafts, three sprocket wheels keyed upon said frame shaft, a chain drive operatively connecting said gearbox-shaft sprocket wheel with one of said frame-shaft sprocket wheels, a sprocket wheel operatively connected with one-of said rollers, a chain drive operatively conmeeting the second one of said frame-shaft sprocket wheels with said one-roller sprocket wheel, two sprocket wheels operatively connected with the second one of said rollers, a chain drive operatively connecting the third one of said frame-shaft sprocket wheels with one of said secondroller sprocket wheels, a countershaft carried by said frame, two sprocket wheel keyed upon said countershaft, a chain drive operatively connecting the second one of said second-roller sprockets wheels with one of said countershaft sprocket wheels, a sprocket wheel operatively connected with the third one of said rollers and a chain drive operatively connecting the second one of said countershaft sprocket wheels with said third-roller sprocket wheel, one of said pulley drives being tensioned when said gear box is located in said forward driving position to drive said rollers through said chain drives in one direction, the other one of said pulley drives being tensioned when said gear box is located in said rearwardly driving position to drive said rollers through said chain drives in the opposite direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,132,059 Trembly Oct. 4, 1938 2,133,173 Meyer Oct. 11, 1938 2,170,888 Abel Aug. 29, 1939 2,197,395 Keeler Apr. 16, 1940 2,687,679 Clary Aug. 31, 1954 2,813,433 Adams et al Nov. 19, 1957 2,912,871 Velkoff Nov. 17. 1959 

